Method and apparatus for &#34;making bottom&#34; in ingot soaking pits



Nov. 28, 1950 D. w. sAUNDERs 2,531,473 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR "MAKINGBOTTOM" IN INGOT SOAKING FITS Filed Jan. l5, 1947 n 4 Sheets-Sheet l229i Ff/9.2. 29

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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR "MAKING BOTTOM" SAUNDERS IN INGOT SOAKING PITS4 Sheets-Sheet I5 Filed Jan. 15, 1947 IIIIIIIIIIII M 257067Z @y a?? /'vj@ @MM Nov. 28, 1950 D. w. sAUNDERs 2,531,473

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR "MAKING BOTTOM'- IN INGOT soAKING PITs FiledJan. 15, 1947 4 sheets-sheet 4 fag? yz@ ZK@ 5706/7709 Jaz/d WzU/Z MPatented Nov. 28, 1950 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BOTTOM IN INGOTSOAKING PITS David W. Saunders, East Chicago, Ill., assigner w InlandvSteel Company, a corporation of Dela- Ware Application January 15, 1947,Serial No. 722,267 Claims. (Cl. 25I55.5)

This invention relates to a portable coke bin which may be used tospread an even layer of coke on the floor of an ingot soaking pit.

In the processing of ingots in a blooming mill they must be soaked athigh temperature for a considerable period of time. This is done in asoaking pit which is usually circular, but may be square, and is merelya sand or rebrick lined pit about 10 or 12 feet deep, with hot gasinlets in its side wall near the floor and an ash pit in the center ofthe floor. It is set in the oor of a pit room, and is provided with acast iron cover.

A layer of coke braize must be spread on the floor of the soaking pit tomake bottom, and the ingots are stood on end on the coke braize forsoaking.

The method heretofore used in making bottom was to dump coke braize onthe pit room iloor adjacent the soaking pit and have the bottom makersshovel it into the soaking pit and smooth it with longhandled shovels.This was very hot, laborious work, and had several practicaldisadvantages. The bottom thus produced was often not very level, makingit difficult to stand the ingots up properly; and the pockets in thecoke bottom caused slag and cinders to form and adhere to the bottom andwall of the pit. Furthermore, it was virtually impossible to remove allthe coke from the top brick or upper sand surface, and this coke incontact with the hot cover would burn out the cover casting.

The present invention is a coke bin which may be lled with coke' braizeand carried into the .mill on a car. 'I'he craneman picks it up with theingot tongs and lowers it onto the floor of the soaking pit. The bottomof the bin has covered openings which may be opened by twisting thetongs, after which the bin is raised about a foot oif the floor and isslowly circled around the area of the pit floor by the crane so as toform an even layer of coke. The craneman can use the bin itself tosmooth the coke bottom.

The invention eliminates the hot, laborious, hand Work of bottom making,saves considerable time in making bottom, permits the making of asmoother, more satisfactory bottom, eliminates the hazard and dirt ofdumping coke onto the pit room floor, and prevents burning out of pitcovers. v

The invention is illustrated in the drawings in which: Fig. V1 is avertical section through a soaking pit with the coke bin in use; Fig. 2is a top plan of a soaking pit showing the manner of using the coke bin;Fig. 3 is a top plan of the coke bin; Fig. 4 is a sectional view thereoftaken as indicated at 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectional view thereoftaken as indicated at 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view thereof taken as indicated at 6-6 ofFig. 5; Fig. 7 is a bottom view of a modified coke bin adapted for usewith a rectangular soaking pit; and Fig. 8 is a plan view of arectangular soaking pit showing the manner of using the modified cokebin.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, a soaking pit 8 is providedwith a coke braize bottom I6. A crane hook I I, of a crane (not shown),is provided with ingot tongs I2, from which is suspended a coke bin,indicated generally at I3.

The coke bin I3, which is the subject of the invention, consists of abody member I4 having a side wall I5 and a bottom I6, the body member I4being provided at its bottom with a plurality of distributing openings,Il. A tube I8 is secured to the center of the bottom I6 in register withan aperture therein, and is connected adjacent its upper end to the sidewall I5 by means of struts I9. A shaft 20 is both rotatably and slidablymounted in the pipe I8. and has secured to its lower end a closuremember 2l which is provided With Openings 22.

Preferably. the openings I'I in the body member I4 are all located inthe bottom I6, and are in the form of radial segments of a circle, asare also the openings 22; and the angular space between adjacentopenings I'I, or between adjacent openings 22, is at least as great asthe angular breadthof the openings. The openings Z2 in the closuremember may be moved into and out of register with the openings Il in thebody member by rotating the shaft 20. The preferred shape of theopenings I'I and 22 provides for a very even distribution of coke braizebelow the bin.

The upper end of the shaft 20 is provided with a carrying member,indicated generally at 23, consisting of a cross member 24 which has itsend portions recessed to accommodate the ingot tongs I3, a verticalcross 1in 25 which extends downwardly from the cross member 24, and apair of pipe sections 26 secured to the lower edge portion of the crossiin 25, into which the jaws of the ingot tongs I3 may fit. A secondcross member 21 acts as a slide-travel stop for the shaft im,V andforms, together with the depending skirt 28 which surrounds the upperend of the tube I8, a dust cap to prevent coke from entering the tubewhen the bin is being loaded.

Secured to the depending skirt 28 are a pair of stop members 29 whichcoact with close stop members 30 and open stop members 3| on the tube I8to limit the rotation of the shaft 20 so as to assure that the openingsI1 in the bottom member will either be fully closed or fully open.

It Will be noted that the side wall I6 extends belowvthe closure member2|, and thus serves as a base upon which the bin rests.

The operation and use of the coke bin is obvious from the abovedescription. .The bin I3 may be filled with coke by the use of anyconvenient mechanism, and conveyed into the pit room on a car. Thecraneman picks up the bin by hooking the jaws of the ingot tongs I2 intothe pipe sections 26, and conveys the bin from the car to the soakingpit 9, where he sets it upon the existing bottom I close to the sidewall of the pit. When the bin is set on the bottom, the shaft 20 andclosure member 2| are free to drop until the closure member is restingon the bottom. By twisting the crane hook I I, the craneman rotates theshaft I8 until the stop members 29 abut against the stop members 3|, atwhich point the openings I1 and the openings 22 are in exact register.The craneman then lifts the bin about a foot oi the bottom and circlesit slowly around the pit 9 close to the wall, thus distributing an evenlayer of coke braize, and renewing the bottom I0. If inspection showsthat the newly laid coke is not sufllciently smooth, the craneman canreadily smooth it by lowering the bin and using the lower edge portionof the side wall I5 as a drag.

The modified form of coke bin shown in Figs. 7 and 8 is adapted for usein a rectangular soaking pit. The arrangement of the bin is similar tothat of the round bin. except for the fact that the space enclosed bythe side wall I5a is rectangular rather than circular, and the openingsIla in the bottom member and the openings. 22a in the closure member arenot all of the same radial extent. Thus, as will be seen, the open' ingsadjacent the corners of the bin have a greater radius than the openingsadjacent the sides thereof. This provides for a better distribution ofcoke into the corners of the rectangular 1. A coke bin for an ingotsoaking pit compris-l- A' its bottom, a closure for each offsaidopenings,

and mechanism whereby said closures may be simultaneously opened bymanipulation from` above, said mechanism including a carrying mem- 4 berby which the bin may be carried in a level position by a crane which mayalso manipulate said mechanism.

2. A coke bin for an ingot soaking. pit comprising a heavy metal bodymember having aside wall and a bottom, said body member being providedwith a plurality of distributed openings at its bottom, a closure memberprovided'with a plurality of openings, said closure member 4beingmovable so as to move the openings therein into or out of register withthe openings in said body member, a shaft secured to said closure memberwhereby the closure member` may be moved by manipulation from above, anda carrying member integral with the upper end of said shaft whereby thebin may be carried in a level position by a crane which may alsomanipulate said closure member.

3. A coke 'bin of the character described in claim 2 in which the areaenclosed by the side wall is rectangular.

4. A coke bin of the character described in claim 2 in which the areaenclosed by the side wall is rectangular, and the openings in the bodymember are only in the bottom, said openings, and the openings in theclosure member being in the form of radial segments of a circle with anangular span between the edges of adjacent openings at least as great asthe angular span of said openings, and the openings adjacent the cornersof the rectangle being of greater radius than the openings adjacent thesides thereof.

5.A coke bin of the character described in claim 2 in which the carryingmember is shaped to accommodate the jaws of crane ingot tongs.

6. A coke bin for an ingot soaking pit comprising a continuous sidewall, a bottom provided with a plurality of distributed openings, acentral upwardly extending tube secured to said bottom in register withan aperture therein, a rotatable and slidable shaft extending throughsaid tube and having a dust cap thereabove which serves as a slidetravel stop, a carrying member secured to the upper end of said shaft,and a closure member secured to the lower end of the shaft, said closuremember being provided with openings which may be moved into and out ofregister with the openings in the bottom by rotation of the shaft.

'7. A coke bin of the character described in claim 6 in which a fixedelement and a rotatable element are provided with coacting stop memberswhereby a positive register is obtained between 'the openings in thebottom and the openings in the closure member.

. 8. The method of making bottom in an ingot soaking pit which comprisesfilling a portable bin with coke braize, lowering the bin into thesoaking pit adjacent the sidewall thereof, slowly moving the bin aboutthe circumference of the pit and r Asimultaneously releasing the cokeslowly from the bin in such a manner as to distribute it evenly acrossthe radius of the pit.

9. 'Ihe method set forth in claim 8 which includes the additionalstep ofsmoothing the coke bottom with the base ofthe bin.

10. A coke bin for an ingot soaking pit comprising a body member havinga side wall and a bottom, said member being provided with a plurality ofdistributed openings at its bottom, a closure for each of said openings,a carrying member by which the bin may be carried in a. level positionby a crane, said carrying member hav- 1 ing opposed apertures toaccommodate the jaws of crane ingot tongs, and connecting mechanismbetween said carrying member and said closures so that'the closures maybe simultaneously opened by manipulation with the crane.

' DAVID W. SAUNDERS.

REFERENCES CITED i T he following references are of record 'in the illeof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 891,859 Pettibone 1---- June 30,1908 1,005,832 Henderson Oct. 17, 1911 1,281,570 Hodge Oct. 15, 19181,332,192 Anderson Mar. 2, 1920 12,131,954 Jockish Oct. 4, 1938

